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Sepsis and Organ Dysfunction pp 151–167Cite as

Diagnostic Approach to Sepsis — State of the Art

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Abstract

Early diagnosis of the different severities of septic inflammation is important for early implementation of specific therapies. Sepsis and severe sepsis are accompanied by clinical and laboratory signs of systemic inflammation. However, patients suffering from non-infectious inflammation may present with similar signs and symptoms, making it difficult to diagnose infection based on clinical findings alone. Bacteriological evidence of sepsis, although definitive and specific, may not be obtainable, is time consuming, and may not occur concurrently with clinical signs of sepsis. It is therefore important to identify markers, which, by enabling an early diagnosis of sepsis and organ dysfunction, would allow early specific therapeutic interventions. Whereas C-reactive protein (CRP) is a more-sensitive parameter for the diagnosis of non-systemic infections, procalcitonin (PCT) seems to be a useful parameter to improve the diagnosis and monitoring of therapy in patients with severe sepsis and septic shock.

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Authors
  1. F. M. Brunkhorst
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  2. K. Reinhart
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery, S. Louis University, School of Medicine, Fishers Island, New York, USA

    A. E. Baue M.D. (Emeritus Professor) (Emeritus Professor)

  2. Department of Clinical Sciences, Section of Anaesthesia, Intensive Care and Pain Clinic, Trieste University Medical School, Trieste, Italy

    G. Berlot M.D.  & A. Gullo M.D.  & 

  3. Department of Intensive Care, Erasme University Hospital, Free University of Brussels, Brussels, Belgium

    J.-L. Vincent M.D.

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Brunkhorst, F.M., Reinhart, K. (2002). Diagnostic Approach to Sepsis — State of the Art. In: Baue, A.E., Berlot, G., Gullo, A., Vincent, JL. (eds) Sepsis and Organ Dysfunction. Springer, Milano. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-88-470-2213-3_13

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